Fire venting roof structure



M. WASSERMAN FIRE VENTING ROOF' STRUCTURE Filed MaIOh 17, 1958 Jan. 23, 1962 INV ENTOR.

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3,517,721 Patented Jain. 23, 1952 3,617,721 'FERR VENTENG RFSTRUCTURE Max Wasserman, Newton, Mass., 1assignor, -by mesne assignments, to Ameriean Cyanamid Company, New York, NX., a corporation ofMaine Filed Mar. 17, 1958, Ser. No.722`,061 3`Clairns. .(Cl. J5th-i111) The present invention relatesto areventingroof structure and more particularly to a ire -Venting roofstructure adapted to be used as a skylightfan'd further adapted to be opened as aeonventional roof Vent.

It -is yan object of fthe present invention to .provide a roof covering adapted to open upon the-occasionofa tire for venting purposes'in 'such a manner -alsnot Ito destroythe unit as awhole.

A furtherobject of the 4presentiuventionisto provide a fire venting-structure whichis so constructed "as t'o'fb'e readily subjected to tests Tfor "the 'determination of -its operating efficiency.

Another object of thepresentinvention 4is topr'ovide ya fire venting roof structure vhaving substantial leverage advantages whereby'the cover may be opened Vagainstthe restraining forces occasioned by snow andice.

Further it is an objectof thelpresent invention -to provide a iire venting structure which is spring actuated lwith the spring adapted to provide a substantial lifting force to the cover upon release. The coveris maintained against this lifting force vby 'a fusible link Iacross `which there is little tension due to the mechanical advantages of the locking arrangement'over-thespring actuating mechanism.

A further object of the-present invention is top rovidea iire venting `roof-structure using apair-'of-intersecting and pivotally interengaginglever .armswhich lare spring 'actuated by means .of a .powerful .springr which bisects 'substantially the intersecting lever arms when in their closed position. Additionally arrangements are proyided which prevent the aforementioned spring from being weakened through misalignment which might otherwise be occasioned by the opening of the cover.

These and other objects of the present invention will be more clearly understood when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of the invention showing schematically the arrangement of the various components; and

FIGURE 2 is a cross sectional embodiment of the invention taken substantially along the line 2-2 of the schematic View shown in FIG. 1.

In the present invention there is provided a plurality of sidewalls, preferably four in number, indicated at 1, 2, 3 and 4 connected together to form an enclosing skylight well. These walls may be of double thickness with an intermediate insulating section, as indicated at 5. The lower edge of the walls is provided with an outwardly extending ange 6 extending about the periphery of the sidewalls and adapted to be secured to a roof of a house, such as indicated at 7, by suitable means. At the upper edges of the walls there is provided an outwardly extending flange 8 extending about the periphery of the walls and terminating in a downwardly extending flange 9 with the lower edge of the flange '9 formed into a lip 10. Adapted to be pivotally secured to the sidewalls forming the well is a dome 11 of acrylic plastic. This dome may, if desired, be transparent or translucent. Alternately, the present invention also contemplates an opaque cover made of material such as rnetal. This dome is provided with a peripheral outwardly extending lip or ilange 12 which is secured between a dome frame 13 and a retaining frame 15. The dome frame 13 comprises a rectangular substantially hori- Zontal ange 16 having an upwardly extending lip 17 at its inner peripheral edge and a downwardly extending ange -'at'it's outer ed'geas'indicated at V148. The retaining frame 15 -fhasan"angular cross section providing an inwardly extending leg 20 and a downwardly extending leg 21 with the leg 20 fittedover the flange orlip 12 and the ydownwardly:extending Vleg v231 secured `in spaced relation to thedla'nge 18. The'retaining frame anddome frame extend about the peripher-yof the dome 1.1 and rigidly secure it in sandwich'fashion with an intermediate spacing means such-as the vinyl `spacer 24. The frame 15 and frame "13 are rigidly secured together by intermittently located nuts and bolts `25lwhichproject through the downwardly extending leg 21and'flange`18 and securethese elements in spaced relation with respect to `one another. Thiscombination-of elements, the dome 11, frame 13 and framelS are'pivotally-frnountedon the curb formed by the ilanges 8,"9 andltl.

Attwo adjacent corners of the frame '13 there is provided a reenforced-corner section, as illustrated at 30. Eachreenforcedcorner section mounts a pin 31 in turn pivotally mounted in the tongue 32. The tongue 32 in turn is welded or otherwise suitably secured to the flange 9 of the curb. Thus, the-"flanges l13 and 15 and dome 111 are adapted-topivot as a unit from a position over the well, Vformed by the sidewalls, `to an open position. A neoprene gasket or similar gasket, as indicated -at 4l), is provided'in intermittent `sections on the ange upon which the 'flange 16'rests.

Lever systems, asillustrat'ed at 42 and 43, identical in construction, are positioned at-opposite sidewalls. For illustrative purposes, only one vof these lever systems is shown (FIG. 2). This system comprises two lever arms 4'4 and 45, pivotally interengaged at oneend as indicated at 46. The upper 'end of lever farm 44 is pivotally secured to the -ange 17, as indicated at 47 while the lower end 4S of the arm 45 vis pivotally secured to the reenforcing plate-49. This 'reenforcing plate 49 is secured by suitable means to the sidewall 1. A projection 50, preferably in the form of a short lever arm, is pivotally secured at one end to the point of pivotal interconnection 46 of the arms 44 and 45. The other end of this projection 50 has secured to it for pivotal movement the power spring 51. This power spring 511 at its other end is preferably connected to the sidewall 4. Also connected to the projection 50 at a point 52 spaced from the point 46 and preferably co incident with the point at which the spring 51 engages the projection is a second spring 53. This second spring 53 is smaller than and has less power than spring 51. At its upper end it is connected to` a projection 55 in turn pivotally connected to the point of engagement 47 of the lever arm 44 with the flange 17. The purpose of spring 53 is to prevent spring 51 from binding against lever arm 45 when the cover is released to` an open position. In the absence of spring 53, spring 51 at its end near the projection 50` will bind and bend and thereby `weaken when it comes in contact with the arm 45. Spring 53 maintains spring 51 in a substantially aligned position and away from arm 45.

The cover is secured in position against the tension of spring 51 by means of a cable or line 60. This line 60 is secured at its upper end to the frame 13 at a position opposite the hinged side and preferably at a position which bisects the well. The line 6d extends downwardly and around the pulleys 62 and 63 with the portion 64 of the line extending across the center of the well. The other end of line 60 hangs downwardly from the well and terminates in a pull-ring 65. A keyhole lock 66 adapted to frictionally engage the line 60, which may if desired be made of chain, is secured in the position below the well. In the portion 64 there is provided a fusible link 67 adapted upon melting to part the line 60 and thereby release the cover so that it may be actuated to an open posiJ tion under the tension of the springs 51.

This construction, as will be noted, may readily be used as a vent by the expedient of releasing the line 60 from the keyhole lock 66, allowing the dome to open to any selected position. Additionally, if the fusible link is melted and the dome is to be used again, it may be closed and reused with the simple expedient of replacing the fusible link S7.

Having now described my invention, I claim:

1. A roof covering construction comprising sidewalls forming an enclosed well, a cover positioned over said well, means hinging said cover at one of said sidewalls, a lever system pivotally interengaging said cover, and a second sidewall comprising a pair of lever arms pivotally interengaged at adjacent ends, and hinged at the remote ends one to the cover and one to said second sidewall, said levers forming an acute angle when said cover is closed, a projection pivotally engaged at one end to the point of pivotal interconnection of said lever arms, a helical compression spring secured at one end to the other end of said projection and at the other end to a sidewall adapted upon release to widen said acute angle and thereby open said cover, said spring in the closed position of said cover substantially bisecting said angle, and means including a fusible link maintaining said cover closed against the tension of said spring until failure of said link.

2. A roof covering construction comprising sidewalls forming an enclosed well, a cover positioned over said well, means hinging said cover at one of said sidewalls, a lever system pivotally interengaging said cover and a second sidewall comprising a pair of lever arms pivotally interengaged at adjacent ends and hinged at the remote ends one to the cover and one to said second sidewall, said levers forming an acute angle when said cover is closed, a projection pivotally engaged at one end to the point of pivotal interconnection of said lever arms, a helical compression spring secured at one end to the other end of said projection and at the other end to a sidewall adapted upon release to widen said acute angle and thereby open said cover, said spring in the closed position of said cover substantially bisecting said angle, a second spring secured at one end to said projection at a position spaced from said point of pivotal interconnection and at the other end to said cover whereby said projection is tensioned upwardly on opening of said cover, and means including a fusible link maintaining said cover closed against the tension of said helical compression spring until failure of said link.

3. A roof covering construction comprising sidewalls forming an enclosed well, a cover positioned over said well, means hinging said cover at one of said sidewalls, a lever system pivotally interengaging said cover and a second sidewall comprising a pair of lever arms pivotally interengaged at adjacent ends and hinged at the remote ends one to the cover and one to said second sidewall, said levers forming an acute angle when said cover is closed, a projection pivotally engaged at one end to the point of pivotal interconnection of said lever arms, a helical cornpression spring connected at one end to said point of pivotal interengagement and at the other end to a sidewall adapted upon release to Widen said acute angle and thereby opens said cover, said spring in the closed position of said cover substantially bisecting said angle, a second spring connected at one end to said one end of said first mentioned helical compression spring at a position spaced from said point of pivotal interconnection and at the other end to said cover whereby said one end of said first mentioned helical compression spring is tensioned upwardly on opening of said cover, and means including a fusible link maintaining said cover closed against the tension of said first mentioned helical compression spring until failure of said link.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 969,554 McVeety Sept. 6, 1910 l1,011,587 Cromley Dec. 12, 1911 2,137,751 Davis Nov. 22, 1938 2,603,842 Robinson July 22, 1952 2,827,003 Stetson Mar. 18, 1958 

